Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong
Please refer to chapter 1 for my disclaimer and warnings. Thank you.
Minerva merely shook her head in apparent annoyance, however, gave Harry and Teddy the permission to leave Hogwarts from ten o'clock until lunchtime and promised to inform Professor Flitwick that they were going to miss Charms.
Punctually at ten o'clock, Harry popped Teddy, Lucy and himself in front of Amelia's office at the ministry. Bella greeted them, gently giving the canine a hug, when Lucy ran over to her to lick her hand in friendly greeting.
"Amelia is already waiting for you. Just go in."
"Thanks," Harry replied, before he politely knocked at the door.
Bandhu and another elf, whom Harry had not met before, were already present.
"This is Bibi. She accompanied me today, as she is going to work together with the two of you in the future."
"Hi Bibi, we're Teddy and Harry."
"Please sit down. Bandhu," Amelia addressed the elder elf, smiling, "my husband told me that you saved the ministry from a possible disaster last night, and I wish to thank you very much. I appreciate it."
Bandhu lightly inclined his head. "I trust that he also told you the reason for my request for this meeting."
Amelia nodded. "If I am informed correctly, your request is that the Ministry of Magic employs free elves instead of house-elves bonded to the ministry."
"Yes."
"Do you have an estimate for the wages of free elves? If I am not mistaken, we had around three hundred house-elves."
"Harry, you're employing roughly three hundred elves at Hogwarts. How much are you paying them?"
"I pay each of them one Galleon per month, and they all have one day off per week and two weeks of summer holidays, during which they're free to do as they please."
Amelia nodded in apparent understanding. "Would it be all right if I offered the elves working for the ministry the same conditions?"
"Of course." Bandhu nodded in apparent contentedness. "Bibi and Harry and Teddy will work together finding elves for you and for anyone else who wish to employ free elves. Two hundred of the elves, who have been working for the ministry so far, have already returned and wish to continue working for you. The others are still on the Isle of Elves recovering from their ordeal."
'And probably enjoying their newly found freedom,' Harry thought in amusement.
"Thank you, Bandhu." Amelia let out a deep sigh. "My problem is that I am only the interim minister and cannot make important decisions. I will, however, suggest to the Wizengamot to set up an Office for Elf Affairs at the Ministry of Magic. Would you be willing to cooperate with this office, provided that I receive the Wizengamot's approval?"
"If Harry leads the office, then yes, the Elder Elves will support this office."
"Harry?" Amelia sighed again. "I know that he would be predestined for the position, however, he is only a second-year student at Hogwarts. He is only twelve years old."
"I believe that this position would not necessarily be a full-time job. Harry could be present in the office at certain times, according to his timetable at school." Turning to Harry, he asked, "Do you have any free times during the week?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, all the times, when my classmates have Potions, for example, and yes, I'd like to work for the Office for Elf Affairs."
"Will Professor Dumbledore approve that you leave Hogwarts every now and then?"
Harry smirked. "He won't have to know. I will speak with Professor McGonagall and ask for her approval."
"Which would not even be necessary, as Harry is the owner of Hogwarts." Teddy grinned, broadly.
"I will take turns with Harry overseeing the office, at least for the beginning. Thank you, Lady Black-Bones, for being so cooperative. Please inform us after the Wizengamot meeting."
"I shall do so. Once again, thank you for your invaluable help last night."
"Bye now."
"Good bye, Bandhu. Harry, will you please attend the meeting together with your parents in case questions come up, which I won't be able to answer? As you know, I don't have much experience with house-elves."
"Of course. I'll help, if there's anything I can do." Harry smiled. "Thanks Amelia, and good bye."
"Bye, Harry, Teddy and Lucy. I'll see you soon."
With that, Harry and Teddy left the office together with Bandhu and Lucy and swiftly returned to Hogwarts.
HP
Severus stared at Harry in apparent disbelief, when he told his parents about his meeting with Amelia and Bandhu at curfew the same day. "Amelia decided to employ free house-elves for the ministry?"
"Well, it was more that Bandhu forced her to agree to it." Harry grinned.
"Be that as it may, there are many people, especially on the Wizengamot, who won't like it. Look at purebloods such as Lucius Malfoy, who use elves as slaves and don't even treat them appropriately."
"They can't do anything against Amelia's decision though, can they?"
Severus shook his head. "No, that's a decision which she made in her capacity as the interim minister. Someone has to make decisions, and that's why we have an interim minister. As she has no ambitions to become the minister, she doesn't really have to care if people agree to her decisions."
"Dad, do you think we could speak to some of the Wizengamot members and convince them before the meeting?"
His parents exchanged a glance. "Shall we call Marvolo over? If some people need convincing, it'll be the darker families, and if there's a chance that they'll listen to someone, it'll be Marvolo," Regina suggested.
Harry nodded in understanding. "That's true. Shall I call him over right away?"
Severus glanced at the time display on the wall. "Please ask him if he can come over tomorrow evening. It's quite late for you."
'Marvolo, could you perhaps come to visit us tomorrow evening? There's something that we'd like to discuss with you before the next Wizengamot meeting.'
To his relief, his friend agreed right away, and after informing his parents, Harry woke Lucy up to get ready for bed.
HP
"Harry, do you believe Bandhu would be willing to teach us the spell he used against the Dementors?"
Harry cast Marvolo a surprised look. "Do you think there are still some left? There were several hundreds of them."
Marvolo and Severus exchanged a look. "Are you sure?"
"Well, I haven't counted them." He gently caressed Lucy's ears to cover any annoyance that made have sounded from his voice, only to add, "If there are more, Bandhu will surely come over and get rid of them for us at any time."
"That's reassuring." Severus sounded relieved.
Marvolo nodded. "Bandhu is a very clever elf. Oh well, I'll call my followers together on Friday evening. Feel free to come over and help me convince them in favour of the elves. Oh and, by the way, if there is going to be the Office for Elf Affairs, shouldn't there be a similar office for the goblins as well?"
"That's true," Harry had to admit, resolving to speak with Buckbean at the next opportunity.
HP
Glad that Remus had once again agreed with Amelia on a Saturday morning for the meeting of the Wizengamot, Harry sat next to Regina as usual, with Lucy perched on his feet. He looked at Amelia in excitement, when Remus immediately gave the floor to the Interim Minister.
"Some of you might have heard that we had a Dementors' attack here at the ministry. We have not given the information to the Daily Prophet as of yet, because I wanted to inform you myself first." Ignoring the upcoming whispers all around the chamber, she continued to speak and explained what Harry already knew, emphasising that he had been the one who found out about it and had called the Elder Elves, who had then destroyed the Dementors.
"All the ministry elves were freed in the process, and consequently, Bandhu, the Elder Elf who destroyed the Dementors saving the elves in the process, demanded that from now on, the ministry should hire free elves. Considering that he saved the ministry from what could have become an enormous disaster, I had to give in to his request."
"What?" Lucius Malfoy's voice cut the air. "House-elves are our minors and supposed to be slaves."
Ignoring the man's outburst, Amelia continued. "As to the working conditions for the free elves, they receive one Galleon per month, one day off per week and two weeks of holidays per year. These are exactly the same conditions as for the elves working at Hogwarts."
"Preposterous!" Malfoy bellowed. "They don't deserve as much as a Sickle for serving us. They're happy to work."
Amelia looked straight at the evil wizard, who was only able to attend the meeting, because Fudge had saved his sorry ass, before he had been sent to Azkaban a few weeks ago. "Mr. Malfoy, would you rather fight a war against the elves? From all I have seen and heard during the last couple of years, we would not been able to hold ourselves against them. They're far superior if it comes to difficult, powerful spells. None of us would have been able to kill the Dementors."
"How do you know that they killed all Dementors? There could still be more to come and destroy other, more important parts of the ministry."
"No one but your late girlfriend knew how many Dementors are running amok around the country, but due to having a good relationship to the elves, the Elder elves would come for another rescue mission at any time." Amelia glared at the blond wizard, who seemed to be fuming at his mentioning of Dolores Umbridge.
'Go Amelia, go,' Harry thought in amusement.
"Well said." Everyone stared at Marvolo in surprise.
"Thank you, Lord Gaunt." A small smile crossed Amelia's face. "Now, if I may continue?" No one else bothered to comment on the matter, and the interim minister continued.
"I ask the Wizengamot to approve the installation of an Office for Elf Affairs at the Ministry of Magic." She explained what she, Bandhu and Harry had discussed a few days ago.
"I second the request." Marvolo nodded at Amelia.
"Preposterous!" Malfoy repeated. "The house-elves are our minors and nothing more but slaves." He glanced around the part of the table, where the dark family seats were accumulated.
Crabbe and Goyle were nodding, fiercely; however, they were the only ones.
"I also second the Interim Minister's request," Artemis Nott declared.
Remus stood from his chair. "Let us have a vote. All in favour for the Office for Elf Affairs please send out green sparks. Everyone who is against it, send out red sparks please."
Harry observed with interest how two boxes appeared in front of Remus. Green sparks were shot into one of them, while he could only see three red sparks enter the other box.
When Remus announced that Amelia's request had passed, Severus rose from his chair and was given the floor.
"Should we perhaps set up a similar office for goblin affairs?"
It was again Malfoy who spoke up against it. "The goblins are thieves. They allowed my former wife to take all the valuables from my vaults, when she separated from me."
"That was before I dissolved your marriage in my capacity as the head of the ancient and noble House of Black; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to access your account." Sirius' voice was cold and firm.
"You…" Malfoy raised his wand.
"Mr. Malfoy, this is the only warning you will receive. Do not raise your wand against a fellow member of the Wizengamot or you will be banned from these meetings for the foreseeable future." Amelia declared in a no-nonsense voice, causing Malfoy to let his wand sink, a sneer written on his face.
"He's really horrible," Harry whispered to Regina, who returned an unobtrusive nod.
HP
Lucius Malfoy was fuming, when he returned home after the latest Wizengamot meeting. 'Crabbe and Goyle are the only ones remaining on my side?' he thought in horror. 'That can't be. Who knows what the Dark Lord told them? I'll have to try to teach them their errors and bring them back on my side, if necessary even turn them against him.'
He tossed his coat at the lowly creature that was awaiting him, as he stepped out of the fireplace. "Fire whiskey!" he ordered, before he retreated into his office, sighing in relief, when the requested bottle was waiting on his desk.
'Too bad that I swore Severus a wizard's oath to not harm the boy and his family,' he thought. 'It's all his and the Dark Lord's fault.' He pondered the matter for a while, only to come to the conclusion that he would only be able to get his revenge on the boy by killing his dog during one of the Hogsmeade visits. 'Next year,' he thought in annoyance, 'considering that he and Draco are only second-years.'
HP
Severus observed in amusement how Albus read the Daily Prophet in apparent shock.
'Elder Elf saves the Ministry of Magic from a Dementors' Attack'
'Ministry of Magic employs free elves'
'New Offices for Elf Affairs and Goblin Affairs'
Underneath was a detailed article about the recent occurrences and the decision made by the previous day's Wizengamot meeting.
"You could have told me something." His voice was laced with reproach, as he looked from Minerva to Severus.
"We didn't know that you were interested," Minerva replied, while Severus merely quirked an eyebrow.
"Have you heard anything about the candidates for the minister's position?"
"No." Severus looked at the headmaster, questioningly.
"Albus, are you going to apply again?" Minerva let out a deep sigh. "You know that we need you as the headmaster."
"Sorry, Minerva, but as the minister, I'd be much more efficiently able to lead the fight of the light against Voldemort. Yes, I did apply, but I'm afraid that Lucius Malfoy will want to become the minister as well, if not Voldemort himself."
"I don't think that Lord Gaunt is going to apply for the position. However, Malfoy as the minister would be a disaster." Severus inwardly groaned. 'I need to speak with Marvolo and my friends. Perhaps, we should agree on someone and convince that person to become the minister.'
'Let's discuss the matter tonight in our quarters,' Severus consecutively thought to Minerva, Narcissa and Remus, noticing that each of them nodded, unobtrusively.
HP
Molly Noname looked at the white marble building in front of her with apprehension. 'This just has to work,' she thought, as she stepped inside and addressed the first teller. "I wish to speak with Blacktooth."
"Your name please," the goblin drawled, looking at her from his ugly face that was dominated by large teeth.
"Molly Weasley." She did not care that it was a lie. 'I can simply explain everything to Blacktooth,' she resolved, only to realise that as the Weasley family's account manager, he would be aware of Arthur's divorce from her anyway.
"Molly Noname. Please follow me."
She uncertainly followed Blacktooth into an immaculate, elegant office void of any decoration, the thought that perhaps she should have requested any other goblin to tend to her crossing her mind.
"Miss Noname, what can Gringotts do for you today?"
Molly straightened herself. "As the last member of the Prewitt family, I wish to take the Prewitt name back and also acquire the ladyship of the family."
The goblin pressed a button at the front of his desk and uttered something in a language that Molly did not understand. Shortly later, tea and biscuits appeared in front of her.
"Please help yourself, while I request some information from my colleagues."
"Thank you, sir." Molly gratefully helped herself to some tea and a chocolate biscuit, quietly observing how another goblin entered the room and spoke with Blacktooth.
"This is Buckbean, the Prewitt family's account manager."
"Hello Mr. Buckbean."
The goblin lightly inclined his head. "May your gold always flow." He nodded at Blacktooth, who swiftly left the room without as much as a word to her.
Buckbean then took the seat behind the desk. "As to your request to become the head of House Prewitt, I am afraid that that's not possible at this time, as the position is already taken."
Molly shook her head. "But that's impossible, sir. They're all dead. I am the only member of the family who is alive. As are my children of course," she added as an afterthought.
She jerked back in shock, when all of a sudden, a figure appeared out of nowhere. The person was completely covered by grey robes, which even hid the face.
"This is Unspeakable Mento. He will now assess if you'll be able to re-join the Prewitt family."
"An Unspeakable?" Molly asked in disbelief. "What does this have to do with the Unspeakables?"
Buckbean smirked. "That is not my secret to spill. I am sorry, Miss."
"Molly Noname, why do you wish to be taken back into the Prewitt family?"
Molly stared at the Unspeakable in surprise. "Because I am a Prewitt by birth."
"Why did you leave the family in the first place?"
"Because I married Arthur Weasley."
"Why are you not a member of the Weasley family anymore?"
"Because Arthur divorced from me."
"And why is that?"
Molly let out a deep sigh. "Apparently, because he didn't like how I punished my children for not behaving adequately."
"Why would your children have to be punished? Your oldest son is a curse breaker at Gringotts, the second a Hogwarts professor, your twins are recipients of the Order of Merlin third class as well as the Order of Albion, and your youngest is in her second Hogwarts year in spite of only being eleven."
"They're Slytherins and working together with Voldemort." Molly felt terrified at the turn the conversation was taking. She simply wanted to become the Lady Prewitt.
"Voldemort does not exist anymore. It is Lord Gaunt you're speaking of, equally a recipient of the Order of Merlin third class and the Order of Albion."
Molly shook her head in annoyance; however, decided to remain quiet for once.
"Now, as to your request to be added back to the Prewitt family, I will grant your request under one condition."
"Condition?" Molly stared at the grey-robed person in front of her in disbelief. "It is my birth right."
The Unspeakable let out a scoff. "No dear, it does not work this way. You will be added back to the Prewitt family if you swear me a witch's oath to not write any Howlers to anyone anymore."
"I what?" Molly spluttered, staring at the Unspeakable in bewilderment. "Who are you to set up such a condition for my family?"
"I am Unspeakable Mento, and that's all that you need to know. Just for your information, I am the only person able to add you to the Prewitt family."
"Why?"
"That's for you to possibly never find out."
Molly's thoughts went haywire. "Are you a Prewitt yourself? If so, who are you? My brothers both died in the war, and we don't have any cousins. Are you really the head of the family? How is that possible?"
The Unspeakable sighed. "So many questions. What a pity. Now, are you going to swear your oath? If you do, I might even take pity on you and offer you a job in the Unspeakables' kitchen. Ever since the elves were freed, we're still lacking a few people, and I'd take it upon myself to hire you. You'd have to work together with our elves though."
Molly's eyes widened in shock. "I am not a house-elf," she stammered. Taking her wand, she uttered, "I swear on my magic to not write any Howlers anymore."
Glaring at the Unspeakable, she enquired, "Now what? Oh right, will you please add my two youngest children as well? Ginevra and Ronald."
"I shall ask them if that's what they want. You will be informed, as soon as they have responded." He waved his wand in a complicated movement and sent out two raccoon Patroni, which quickly disappeared through the nearest wall.
Mento nodded at Buckbean. "Buckbean, I wish to add Molly to the Prewitt family."
Buckbean nodded his understanding and prepared a parchment, which he slid over to the Unspeakable.
Mento quickly put his signature, and the parchment rolled itself up and vanished into thin air.
Molly stared at the Unspeakable in disbelief. "Are you one of the twins? But they died. Do you have any proof that you're the head of the Prewitt family?"
The Unspeakable nodded and slid his right hand out from underneath his sleeve, making a ring visible, which Molly recognised from her childhood, when her father had been wearing it.
"You can't be Dad. He's dead as well," she considered the mystery.
The Unspeakable suddenly began to chuckle. "I just received a telepathic response from your daughter. She wishes to remain a Weasley. My compliments to the young lady for managing telepathy as an elven-year-old."
"Ginevra? Are you sure that it was her? How would she be able to use telepathy at her age?" Molly felt even more confused than before.
The Unspeakable glanced at his wrist watch. "I am afraid that I have another meeting commencing in a few minutes, so I must leave now. Please consider if you wish to work in our kitchen, and if so, you can address your letter to Mento at the Unspeakables Office."
"Bye Mento. Will your gold always flow."
"Bye Buckbean. Thanks for alerting me to the fact. May your enemies always cower before you. Bye Molly."
"Bye." Somehow, Molly felt completely dazed. She still had so many questions, above all who that Unspeakable might be. 'I'll go home and look at the old photos. Perhaps, I'll get to know who it is that way.'
"Bye Buckbean. Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome. Bye Miss Prewitt. May your gold flow."
"Ah, sorry, please allow me one last question. Do you believe I should take the position as a cook in the Unspeakables Office?"
Buckbean nodded. "I like the Unspeakables' canteen. It's better and more comfortable than that of the Ministry of Magic."
"I didn't even know that the Unspeakables had their own," Molly mused, more to herself than to the goblin. "I suppose that you can't tell me about his identity either?"
"No, Miss Prewitt. I am sorry."
Molly nodded in understanding, uttered another "Good bye" and left.
